TAKING CHARGE:
Sandy Alderson, who will be introduced today as the Mets' new general manager, is the right guy to get the Amazin's foundering ship pointed in the correct direction, Joel Sherman says.AP

Mets ownership finally found a guy with the right “skill sets,” an executive who truly deserves “autonomy” to run baseball operations.

When a Wilpon officially announces Sandy Alderson as general manager today there will be no need for résumé inflation or misdirection about who will really be running baseball operations.

“He is the best leader I have ever been around in my life,” said J.P. Ricciardi, who worked for Alderson in baseball operations for the Athletics. “When he walks into a room, he owns it, and not in a Genghis Khan kind of way. He just has such intelligence and is such a great listener that it instantly commands your respect.”

The Mets settled on Alderson to replace Omar Minaya for many reasons. Here are five keys that should help elevate the franchise:

* SELF-CONFIDENCE:
The Mets have too often lacked belief in their strategies — shifting plans, for example, if they are getting too much media heat.

“This is not a guy who is going to overreact to fans or media,” said a one-time employee of Alderson’s. “He has leadership skills to get an organization all pulling in the same direction and once that occurs, he is not backing down because someone outside the organization does not like it. No shot.”

* CALM IN THE STORM:
The Mets have had to navigate many negative on- and off-field issues in recent years, and have too frequently worsened matters by making poor judgments under stress.

“When times are tough, he is at his best,” said Kevin Towers, who was the GM under Alderson in San Diego. “It might be the military background [Alderson was a Marine in Vietnam], but there is a calmness about him that you don’t often see in this business. When the organization is struggling, he knows how to be supportive. He is much tougher when you are winning.”

* WILLING TO WORK:
Alderson will turn 63 next month, but no one should doubt his energy or, as someone who has worked closely with Alderson said, “his incredible ability to multi-task, even now.” Ricciardi remembers Alderson’s willingness to drive all night by van to catch Winter League games in the Dominican. Athletics GM Billy Beane, who counts Alderson as a mentor, said recently in the Dominican he saw Alderson moving furniture himself to set up a room.

* ACCOUNTABILITY:
The pass-the-buck mentality of the Mets stops now. So does haphazard decision making. Alderson believes in empowering a strong front office and letting his subordinates have room to act.

“If you have gumption to stick with your guns and you can prove something is right to him, he will support you and support you big,” Ricciardi said.

But in exchange for that type of latitude, Alderson demands that department heads, in particular, logically explain their plans or else he will not hesitate to step in, because he believes ultimate responsibility falls to him.

“This guy has incredible integrity,” Towers said. “He is going to have a complete, honest relationship with you. He is a big believer in process. For him having a good process does not mean everything works out, but not having a good process to him means anything that works out does so by luck, not design. He will empower people, but hold them accountable. With Sandy there are no secrets, he will let know what he thinks of you.”

* CONVICTION:
The Mets have believed in nothing for too long. For example, Minaya talked pitching, defense and athleticism and never structured his roster to that view. Alderson will live his beliefs, and this is where you get some bad with the good. Alderson will be unflinching in enacting a plan and his steadfastness could become polarizing.

“He is willing to delegate, he is willing to listen to new ideas, but if he comes to believe something, well, then he is not changing,” said a one-time employee of Alderson’s.

As the Padres CEO, for example, Alderson made statistical analysis vital to the running of the organization. He hired numbers savant Paul DePodesta to report directly to him, to the chagrin of Towers. The devotion to the metrics led to manager Bruce Bochy leaving San Diego to a more scout-centric Giants organization.

Nevertheless, for a Mets organization that has believed in nothing staunchly, Alderson’s steadfastness is a needed quality, right now.